Guernica Remakings, South Africa, Research into the practice of cross-cultural translation through making - follow on funding

The poorest area of South Africa is in the Eastern Cape, it is here within the Peddie District that Guernica Remakings, South Africa is focused and seeks to have impact. The Keiskamma Art Project was begun in 2000/01 in this region in the village of Hamburg with the aim of raising self-esteem and contributing to poverty alleviation. The Keiskamma Art Project has a history of translating iconic artworks to speak to South African experience including the Bayeux Tapestry and Picasso’s Guernica.

This research investigates the practice of translation through making, commissioning the Keiskamma Art Project to create their fifth Kesikamma Guernica and asks why Guernica? Exploring what it is about this artwork that lends itself to being adapted.

Their translation of Picasso’s iconic anti-fascist artwork transforms its geography, time and narrative from: Spain to South Africa, from the early 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century, from anti-fascism to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

The follow-up funding develops research first funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council through their Global Challenges Research Fund between 2016 and 2018.